Two Israeli tourists, one Egyptian killed in Alexandria shooting

Israeli tourists and Egyptian guide killed by Egyptian policeman in Alexandria amid ongoing Gaza conflict

Two Israeli tourists and one Egyptian were killed Sunday by a policeman in Egypt, local media and Israeli authorities said, as war rages for a second day between the neighbouring country and Hamas.

The policeman fired "at random" at an Israeli tour group visiting Alexandria using "his personal weapon", the state-affiliated private television Extra News said quoting a security source.

A fourth person was wounded and the policeman was "immediately arrested", it added.

The Israeli foreign ministry confirmed the deaths in a statement.

"This morning during a visit of Israeli tourists in Alexandria, Egypt, a local opened fire at them, murdering two Israeli citizens and their Egyptian guide," it reads.

"In addition, there is a wounded Israeli in moderate condition."

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The deaths come as fighting rages after Palestinian militants on Saturday launched a multi-pronged attack on Israel, which has declared war on Hamas and launched air strikes on Gaza.

Egypt was the first Arab country to forge a peace deal with Israel in 1979, and has long served as a key intermediary between Israel and the Palestinians.

However, despite the diplomatic relations, Israel remains largely unpopular among Egyptians.

In June, three Israeli soldiers were killed in a firefight at the border with Egypt by a member of the Egyptian security forces who crossed the border "in pursuit of drug traffickers", according to the Egyptian army.

On Saturday, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned of a "vicious cycle of tensions threatening regional stability and security".